Instant messaging app WhatsApp has been sent a “strongly worded letter” by the Indian government about its latest privacy policy. WhatsApp introduced a new policy that requires users to share their personal information with Facebook if they interact with businesses. The move was met with backlash from users in India that led to a mass exodus to other messaging apps such as Telegram and Signal. The Indian Government has now expressed its concerns to WhatsApp and reconsider its decision according to a report by NDTV.
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India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology or ‘’MeitY’ sent a “strongly worded” letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart. In the letter, it was expressed that the new privacy policy "raises grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of India citizens.”. The letter goes on to add "any unilateral changes to the WhatsApp Terms of Service and Privacy would not be fair and acceptable.”
India is one of WhatsApp's most important markets with over 400 million users in the countries alone. A recent survey by LocalCirles also revealed that only 18% of WhatsApp users in India are likely to continue with the service which will be a massive hit to WhatsApp’s user base in the country. Due to the backlash, WhatsApp had to delay the implementation of the new policy however as of now it will be implemented on May 15th.
WhatsApp was brought to court about its new privacy policy however the Delhi High Court said that accepting the new privacy policy is “voluntary" and asks users to stop using the service if they don’t like the new policies. The letter from MeitY comes a day after the Delhi High Court verdict raising key objections such as the involuntary nature of the new policy. The letter also reminded WhatsApp of the Indian Supreme Court’s judgement on privacy policy from 2017 and the proposed data protection law.
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The Government also pointed out and takes objection to WhatsApp having different policies in different regions. As we reported earlier, WhatsApp’s privacy policy in Europe is different from the one in India and does not force its users to comply with the new change. The letter then asked 14 questions from WhatsApp on how user data is utilised and what type of privacy protections users get from the instant messaging app.
Source: NDTV
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